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President Roosevelt tells his daughter Ethel Roosevelt that he and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt have been having a good time on the boat to Panama, noting that Edith “has been appearing in very pretty dresses.” He describes several meals and their time with the officers on board.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-14
President Roosevelt tells his son Kermit Roosevelt that he has been a bit bored on the trip, but he has been reading a lot, and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt has been enjoying herself. The officers and crew have been very good to them. He describes the sight of the three battleships cruising at night and reflects on his current state as president helping to build the Panama Canal. He outlines their typical day. In an entry a few days later, Roosevelt comments on their reaching San Salvador, where Christopher Columbus first landed in the Americas. They are getting closer to Panama and hope to reach it that afternoon, just six days from when they left Washington, D. C.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-14
President Roosevelt tells his son Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., that he is a bit bored of the sea but is otherwise having a good time. He feels proud of the nation aboard the battleship. Roosevelt asks Ted if he has read several books by T. Smollett and compares the conditions of those characters to his own at sea. He is happy to have had Ted with him in Washington, D. C., and he offers advice to him about college and growing up.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-14
President Roosevelt asks German Ambassador Sternburg to give his thanks to German Emperor William II. The statistics given to Roosevelt match those of the United States’, and he assume that means they are correct. He remarks on a new battleship, calling it “formidable.” In a handwritten postscript, he tells Sternburg that he shot a wild turkey.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-06
President Roosevelt is “pleased and proud” of the work of Admiral Sims and his men.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-16
President Roosevelt informs journalist Herbert L. Bridgman that battleships should not be used for “merely social visits.” If used, they would need to visit multiple cities.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-25
President Roosevelt asks Secretary of the Navy Bonaparte if naval officer Charles S. Sperry would be a good fit for commander of a new division of battleships.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-01
President Roosevelt forwards Acting Secretary of the Navy Newberry a message from Secretary of War William H. Taft. Out of precaution, Taft and Acting Secretary of State Robert Bacon recommend sending more vessels and personnel to Cuba. Roosevelt directs Newberry to send as many vessels and marines as possible.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-24
President Roosevelt sends his sympathy to George Otto Trevelyan upon the death of his sister, Viscountess Margaret Jean Trevelyan Knutsford. He thanks him for clarifying why many Englishmen distrust former Prime Minister James Arthur Balfour and discusses corruption and military armament. The foreign affairs regarding Newfoundland fishery regulations and civil unrest in Cuba prove frustrating. Roosevelt shares these frustrations with Trevelyan for “the fact that I have to blow off steam.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-09
President Roosevelt asks Admiral Converse to bring the enclosed letter from German Ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg before the General Board of the Navy. He wants the Board’s judgment before eliminating five to six-inch guns from American batteries.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-10
President Roosevelt thanks Prince Louis Mountbatten for the “remarkable” copies of the medals sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. He comments on his efforts to have Saint-Gaudens’s newly designed gold coins adopted. Roosevelt wishes Mountbatten could have attended the recent naval review. Although “not much of a fleet” compared to the British Royal Navy, every ship is modern and efficient.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-14
President Roosevelt was very interested in Lieutenant Commander Albert L. Key’s view of Senator Eugene Hale. He agrees with Key’s comments on Representative Theodore E. Burton’s speech, and says that while Burton is useful in many ways, his opposition to the Navy offsets all of this. Roosevelt dismisses Burton’s opinion that “he believed in arbitration rather than battleships” with the comment that, “he might just as well say that he believed in arbitration rather than policemen.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-17
President Roosevelt congratulates Secretary of the Navy Bonaparte regarding the armor plate for ships and the contracts. He agrees with Bonaparte’s feeling that Naval Paymaster John N. Speel may not be the best fit for a position high in the Naval Department. Roosevelt was not surprised to read Senator Eugene Hale’s letter, and says that while Bonaparte should consult with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Truman Handy Newberry, he believes they should go ahead with appointing the board regardless of what Congress does.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-14
President Roosevelt tells Senator Penrose that he is doubtful that a battleship could properly be used to transport the body of founding father James Wilson, as Mr. Konkle inquired about, and explains why one was used to transport the body of John Paul Jones. He promises, however, to ask Secretary of the Navy Charles J. Bonaparte. In a postscript, Roosevelt explains that he has spoken with Bonaparte, who informed him that the cruiser Pennsylvania is currently undergoing repairs, and will then head to the Philippines. Roosevelt reiterates that “it does not seem to me appropriate to use the navy for a civilian even as great as James Wilson,” but promises that the government will give him every honor it appropriately can.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-26
President Roosevelt thinks that Andrew Carnegie’s suggestion is excellent and promises to take up Carnegie’s letter with Secretary of State Elihu Root.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-19
President Roosevelt was delighted to see that United States Representative Foss, Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs, has provided for the building of one large battleship. Roosevelt believes that as long as the government has only authorized the construction of one battleship, it should be the best sort of battleship that can be built.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-03-28
President Roosevelt shares his thoughts about his recent inauguration and the work he hopes to do in his second term with Major General Wood. In particular, Roosevelt is proud of his work building up the United States’s battleship fleet. Roosevelt mentions that Secretary of War William H. Taft will travel to the Philippines the upcoming summer.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-09
President Roosevelt tells Ambassador Sternburg he was very interested in the speech given by Alfred von Tirpitz in which he argued that battleships are the key to sea power. Roosevelt jokes that Senator Eugene Hale should “learn the speech by heart.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-03
President Roosevelt disagrees with an informant of Cecil Spring Rice’s regarding the comparative strengths of the Russian and Japanese fleets in a naval battle near Port Arthur, and details his reasoning. Roosevelt enjoyed seeing Spring Rice recently. He comments that he is having some troubles in Washington, D.C., and jokingly proposes sending “eminent statesmen at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue” to be bodyguards for imperiled Russian nobility.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-27
President Roosevelt thanks Representative Legaré for his work for the Navy, and is happy to tell him one of the battleships will be named the USS South Carolina.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-28